ACL Reconstruction: Part 1

Getting a Second Opinion

So Mike calls me one summer night earlier than I expected. I knew he had a softball game and that it was a double-header that wouldn't be over until late. But nonetheless he was calling me early. I wasn't too alarmed because it could've ended early for any number of reasons. I answer the phone and he's like "I hurt my knee..." I thought to myself oh he probably just sprained something and it hurts, but he'll be fine. But he began telling me he couldn't walk on it and so on and so forth, so I panicked a bit. Of course his father tells him, "I won't make you go to the emergency room." But I said, "oh you're at least going to an immediate care!" So I made him go but he only agreed after he could go home and shower. If you know my husband at all, you know how important cleanliness is (he would take 3 showers a day if he could). 

Of course at the immediate care center all they did was do an x-ray and tell him nothing was broken. Then the PA-C preceded to give him a ridiculous knee immobilizer and told him to wear it for a few days. My mom recommended an orthopedics group in Frederick (who I will not name for reasons you'll see later) and of course I think Mike had to be seen before they'd order an MRI. He passed the clinical ACL examination, and the doc there told him his ACL was probably fine but they'd order the MRI anyways. 

MRI came back with a crazy report of a tibial plateau fracture, completely destroyed ACL, cartilage damage, mensical tears...it was crazy. Frederick doctors read that MRI and tell Mike because of said tibial plateau fracture that he shouldn't put any weight on his leg for 2-3 weeks. Great, he's on crutches which is so irritating and I watch his whole left leg shrink before my eyes as his muscles atrophy. The PA-C we saw here also went over Mike's options as far as ACL grafts, but more about that in Part 2. 

Meanwhile, Mike's mom gets Mike set up with a second opinion appointment with Dr. Leslie Matthews at MedStar Union Memorial (mentioning him because he is AWESOME). He takes one look at the MRI and dismisses a lot of the craziness on the radiology report. He also says Mike does NOT need to be using the crutches and emphasizes the importance that Mike start PT prior to surgery so that he can strengthen the muscles around the knee (I didn't then see the importance of this, although I should've). 

So the moral of Part 1 of the story is always get a second opinion. This is something my boss preaches daily and it was interesting to see it play true in our lives. Sometimes the first opinion may be the one you end up going back to, but it's always good to have a second set of doctor eyes on the issue. To go along with that, unless it is a life or death surgery, you have time to get a second opinion. I did TONS of research on the timing of when to have ACL reconstruction because we wanted to wait until after the wedding. I don't remember exact numbers, but I was able to find a range, and it did allow time for a second opinion. 

Mike's dad brought us chocolate milk since the wait at the urgent care center was going to be 2 hours or something crazy. 

Of course he barely fit on the table...

And there he is with the total unnecessary and ridiculous knee immobilizer. Haha. 

Stay tuned for Part 2: Choosing an ACL Graft!